Figure 1: Google Earth view on the final train stations (Kolo/Warthbrücken &
Powierce), the ruins of Kulmhof Extermination Camp and its Body Disposal Site in
Rzuchow Forest

The Deportation of the Unfit Jews

The first trucks of Jews reached the Kulmhof extermination site from
Kolo (German Warthbrücken) around 8 December 1941. [1] For ghettos farther away like Lodz (German Litzmannstadt) the victims were first deported
to Warthbrücken and then either driven to Kulmhof or sent further to Powiercie
(about 8 km apart from Kulmhof) by narrow-gauge railway and picked up by
the trucks of Sonderkommando Kulmhof [2] (see train list ghetto Litzmannstadt to Warthbrücken in Document 23, train list Ghetto Litzmannstadt to Przybylów between
Powiercie and Kulmhof in Document 24 and the overview map in Figure 1). The photograph in Figure 2 shows the unloading of Jews from the narrow gauge railway in Powiercie. [3]

The Jews deported to Kulmhof were mainly
sick, elderly, children, families considered unfit for work, as
illustrated by the example of the deportations from the Ghetto Litzmannstadt. The
Ghetto with its 163,000 inhabitants as of 31 December 1941 [4] provided the largest part of the victims for the
Kulmhof extermination camp.

On 9 December 1941, the so
called Forschungsstelle A Litzmannstadt - the local Security Service of
Joseph Goebbels - wrote a memo based on the information provided by the
Gestapo head Robert Schefe that Arthur Greiser ordered that "the sick of the
Ghetto shall be 'brought away'" (Document 21). On 16 January
1942, the Forschungsstelle noted that according to the
deputy of the Gestapo Herbert Weygandt 10,000 Jews unfit for work will
be "taken out" from the Ghetto (Document 22) and on 22 April 1942 that Litzmannstadt will become a "working Ghetto" after the "evacuation of the unfit Jews" (Document 25) (see also “The Jews buried in a little wood near Kulmhof”: Documenting Cremation at Chelmno). The Gestapo Litzmannstadt reported on 8 June 1942 that a "a larger number of Jews not fit for work were evacuated from the ghetto and sent to the Sonderkommando" (Document 30) and on 3 October 1942 that "now that the rural districts have become free of Jews by evacuation in
August, another resettlement of about 15,700 sick and unfit Jews from
the ghetto Litzmannstadt occurred in September" (Document 33).

According to the records of the population changes of the Ghetto, about 70,000 Jews had been deported to Kulmhof in 1942 (Table 1).
By order of the Gestapo to the Administration of Ghetto Litzmannstadt, which was
uncertain if and how to record the deportation of the unfit Jews, this loss of people was officially camouflaged as
"resettled" [5], while actual transfers of
Jews inside the Warthegau and to the General Gouvernement and the
Altreich were designated as "departed". By 16 October 1942, the Elderly
of the Jews
reported to the Ghetto Litzmannstadt Administration that "all unfit workers have
left the Ghetto with the latest resettlement, except for a small number
that was allowed to stay in agreement with the Gestapo". [6]

TABLE
1: Jews deported from Ghetto Litzmannstadt to Kulmhof ("resettled"). Note that the figure for
March 1942 can be also cross checked with the train records of about 27,000 Jews deported to
Warthbrücken and Powierce - the trains were charged to Przybylów, apparently the nearest official station - in Documents 23 and 24.

What happened in Kulmhof to the unfit Jews deported from Litzmannstadt and other Ghettos of the Warthegau?

Excursus: The Intended Extermination of Tuberculosis Sick Poles

On 3 May 1942, the Higher SS and Police Leader of
Warthegau Wilhelm Koppe informed the Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler
via Rudolf Brandt that he seconds the request of the Reich governor
Arthur Greiser "for permission to have
those Poles who have been shown to be afflicted with open
t[u]b[erculosis] sent to
the Kommando Lange for Sonderbehandlung" (Document 27).

Sonderbehandlung (special treatment) was the usual designation for
extrajudicial killings among the German paramilitary forces (see for
instance our blog postings here and here).
In the context of the treatment of incurable tuberculosis sick Poles,
the term Sonderbehandlung likewise meant killing as borne out by

Greiser's suggestion to Himmler of 1 May 1942 to use the
"Sonderkommando...to take appropriate draconic steps
against this public plague...to have cases of open TB exterminated [ausgemerzt]
among the Polish
race...whose
incurability is proved and certified by public health officer" (Document 26).

the opinion of the head of the Security Police and SD on the matter
forwarded to Himmler on 9 June 1942 (five days after Reinhardt
Heydrich's death) that the "individual measures...will first have to be
discussed thoroughly
with the Security Police, in order to carry out the task with the
least possible attraction of attention" (Document 29, cf. Document 32).

and last but not least, the letter of the Deputy Reich Health Leader Kurt Blome
to Greiser of 18 November 1942 describing the "'Sonder-Behandlung'" as
"most simple and most radical measure", which needs to be carried out
with "absolute secrecy", but which is not possible as the "Euthanasia
program [of German nationals] taught" and further "the Führer, having sometime ago stopped the program in
tho insane asylums, might at this moment consider a 'special treatment'
of the incurably sick as unsuitable and irresponsible from a political
point of view".

Blome also pointed out as
alternative to the "Sonder-Behandlung" the "most rigorous isolation of
the seriously ill persons" or the "creation of a reservation for all TB
patients" and therefore excluding such non- or less-sinister interpretations of
the term (Document 34).

The plan to systematically exterminate the incurable tuberculosis sick Poles in
the Warthegau was
dismissed by Himmler in his letter to Greiser of 3 December 1942 based on Blome's arguments (Document 36). The correspondence shows,
however, that the Sonderkommando was considered a mass killing unit for the most delicate tasks, as it had already proved earlier during the Euthanasia
in the Warthegau (see Sonderkommando Lange in German Documents: Euthanasia 1940/41).

100,000 Jewish Victims

In his initial request of 1 May 1942 to finish off the incurable tuberculosis sick Poles, Greiser also explained that (Document 26)

"The Sonderbehandlung of about 100,000 Jews in the
territory of my district, approved by you in agreement with the Chief
of the Reich-Main-Security Office, SS Obergruppenführer Heydrich, can
be completed within the next 2-3 months. I ask you for permission to
rescue the district immediately after the measure taken against the
Jews, from a menace, which is increasing week by week, and use the
existing and used to this work Sonderkommando for that purpose."

Accordingly, Greiser had received Himmler's and Heydrich's authorization (and thought to have a free hand given by Hitler anyway, see Document 34) to kill 100,000 Jews of the Warthegau by means of a Sonderkommando (which identity to Lange and Kulmhof is established by Document 27 and Sonderkommando Kulmhof in German Documents - Origin and Foundation, respectively). The operation was ongoing and to be completed soon. The figure of 100,000 victims until Summer 1942 is confirmed by a memo of the RSHA Security Police motor pool member Willy Just of 5 June 1942 (Document 28, for a more detailed discussion incl rebuttal of holocaust denial see Rebuttal of Alvarez on Gas Vans: The Just Memo):

"Since December 1941, 97,000 have been processed for
example, using three vans, without any defects showing up in the
vehicles. The explosion that we know took place at Kulmhof is to be
considered an isolated case".

The homicidal nature of the "special vans" and thus that 97,000 people
have been gassed at one place is revealed in the description that the
vehicles are "filled with CO [carbon monoxide]". The action has to be assigned to Sonderkommando Kulmhof as it was the only German paramilitary unit, which killed such large number of people with up to three gas vans
operating with with engine exhaust in this period (note that the mentioned "explosion" of a gas van in Kulmhof was not considered a
technical defect, but caused by "improper operation"). The document also agrees with the start up of the operation of the extermination camp in December 1941 mentioned at the beginning of this posting.

The figure of 100,000 killed Jews in Kulmhof up to summer 1942 can be further corroborated by other evidence:

the Korherr report and Himmler's related letter that 145,301 Jews had been subjected to a "special treatment"
in the "camps of the Warthegau" until 31 December 1942 (the additional about 45,000 Jewish victims were consequently killed in the second half of 1942).

the testimony of the SS Sonderkommando member Fritz Is. that 75,000 to 100,000 corpses had been buried in three mass graves in the forest camp near Chelmno. [8]

the testimony of the police Sonderkommando member Jakob Wi. that in Summer 1942 "there had been 100,000 corpses in all mass graves" and the unit was sent to Berlin presumably "to report the completion of the killing of
100,000 Jews". [9]

The extermination of the Jews and use of homicidal gas vans in Kulmhof (covering also the camp's 2nd period in 1944) is likewise supported by non-German contemporary sources...

Post-card and letter from Jakob Szulman of 19 and 21 January 1942, respectively [10a]

Account of the Kulmhof escapee Szlama Winer of 1942 [14], report of Hersz Wasser (Oneg Shabbat) of February/March 1942 mainly based on Szlama Winer [15], and speech of Szmul Zygielbojm at the Labor Party meeting in London on 2 September 1942 [15b]

56 local civilians, including wives of Sonderkommando men, German and Polish residents, forestry, road and garage workshop workers [27].

For example, the following description of the killing procedure was provided by the SS
Sonderkommando driver Walter Burmeister: [28]

New
arrivals undressed in the hall of the palace and put their belongings
in baskets. Their valuables and money were collected by Poles from the
work detail. The Poles also wrote down the names, but that was only for
form's sake. I often had to be present during these proceedings in the
company of Hautpsturmführer Lange, becaue he always wanted to address
the Jews himself.

When the Jews had undressed, they were ordered
to go down the stairs and into the cellar. This was lit by gas lamps.
On the walls of the staircase signs hung bearing the words: "To the
Baths." A Polish wort detail accompanied them, not the SS men. Maybe
sometimes a couple of police men went with them to make sure that no one
got left behind. From the cellar, the naked people continued straight
on, leaving the building by a rear door and going up onto a wooden ramp.
One of the gas vans, which I have already described, was backed up to
the end of the ramp with the doors open. During the construction of the
camp the ramp had been erected and installed in such a way that the
dimensions were exactly adapted to those of the gas van. The people who
came out of the cellar by the rear door did not have any choice but to
climb in to the van. As soon as the interior was full, with 35 to 40
people inside, the door was closed.

From the time the people got
out of the transport trucks in front of the palace courtyard to the
time they were loaded into the gas vans, a little less than a hour, at
most one and a half hours, had passed. It depended on how long it took
the old people to undress and hand over their valuables. It all happened
without undue haste, quite calmly, so as not to arouse suspicion.

As
soon as the doors of the gas van were closed, the pipe was connected
with the flexible metal hose to the exhaust pipe. This was usually done
by the Polish work detail. Then the engine was started and kept running
for 15 to 20 min with medium, not to high revolutions. When the first
gas reached the van, the people seemed to have knocked,
shout or screamed...

In short, German war-time documents show - in agreement with the vast body of evidence from other type of sources - that about 100,000 Jews were killed at the Kulmhof extermination site up to Summer 1942, largely with mobile gas chambers using gasoline engine exhaust.

Re: Clarifying the health question in the Ghetto and the Gypsies' camp

Process: none

The head of the Security Police Office Dr. Schefe explained upon delivering NL 4135 that it was stated during the meeting with the district president on 5 December that the sick of the Ghetto shall be "brought away" at the order of the Gauleiter. On the question of the Security Police if Berlin is informed about this an evasive answer was given.

Research office A Litzmannstadt
[signature]

2. duplicate to FHL B
3. to the files Secret State Affair 4

(YVA
O.51/13, p. 220)

22.) Telex of Forschungsstelle A Litzmannstadt to Forschungsamt 5 A 3 of 16 January 1942:

On delivering NL 4429, RR Weygandt of the Security Police Litzmannstadt provided
information on the future plans and intention for the Ghetto arrangement. According
to this, a complex of currently about 8,000 Jews shall be taken out of the Ghetto after the evacuation of 10,000 Jews unfit for work starting on 16 January. The traffic conditions shall be improved by this and the avenue to Warsaw shall be finally made available again for the public traffic. As RR Weygandt mentioned, this would meet a long time coming wish of the city.

The number of Jews unfit for work is about 100,000 according to RR Weygandt. The Gauleiter - so RR Weygandt reported at the end - plans the settlement of 10,000 Jewish workers from the Warthegau after a further evacuation of Jews unfit for work.

A Litzmannstadt
[signature]

2.) duplicate to FHLB
3.) to the files Secret State Affair 4

(YVA
O.51/13, p. 221)

23.) List of Jewish transports from train station Radegast in Ghetto Litzmannstadt to Kolo between 1 and 15 March 1942:

At a meeting at the Stapo, Regierungsrat Weygandt declared that the Ghetto Litzmannstadt would become a labour Ghetto of the Gau. All Jews able to work in the Warthegau would be settled to the Ghetto after the resettlement of the Jews who are not able to work. They should be mainly concerned with the production of military products, which was instructed by the Reichsmarschall Göring, who would like to see exploited every work force. The Jews who were not able to work come into so-called supply camps.

The special treatment of about 100.000 Jews in the
territory of my district (Gau), approved by you in agreement with the Chief
of the Reich-Main-Security Office, SS Obergruppenfuehrer Heydrich, can
be completed within the next 2-3 months. I ask you for permission to
rescue the district immediately after the measure taken against the
Jews, from a menace, which is increasing week by week, and use the
existing and used to this work Sonderkommando for that purpose.

There
are about 230,000 people of Polish nationality in my district, who were
diagnosed to suffer from TB. The number of persons infected with open
tuberculosis is estimated at about 35,000. This fact has led in an
increasing frightening measure to the infection of Germans, who came to
the Warthegau perfectly healthy. In particular reports are received with
our increasing effect of German children in danger "infection. A
considerable number of well known leading men especially of the police,
have been infected lately and are not available for the war effort
because of the necessary medical treatment. The ever increasing risks
were also recognized and appreciated by the deputy of the Reich Leader
for Public Health (Reichsgesundheitsfuehrer) Comrade Professor Dr. Blome
as well as by the Leader of your X-rays battalion SS Standartenfuehrer
Professor Dr. Hohlfelder.

Though
in Germany proper it is not possible to take appropriate draconic steps
against this public plague. I think I could take the responsibility for
my suggestion to have cases of open TB exterminated among the Polish
race here in Warthegau. Of course only a Pole should be handed over to
such an action, who is not only suffering open tuberculosis, but whose
incurability is proved and certified by public health officer.

Considering
the urgency of this project I ask for your approval in principle as
soon as possible. This would enable us to take the preparations with all
necessary precautions now to get the action against the Poles suffering
from open tuberculosis under way, while the action against the Jews is
in its closing stages.

May I ask that you submit the following matter to the Reichsfuehrer SS:

The
Gauleiter will shortly ask the Reichsfuehrer SS for permission to have
those Poles who have been shown to be afflicted with open TB sent to
the Kommando Lange for special treatment. This request is motivated
by the Gauleiter's serious and understandable concern for the physical
welfare of the German people here. For there are about 20-25000 poles in
the Gau who, according to the doctor's opinion, are afflicted with
incurable TB and who will not be fit for assignment to work again. In
view of the fact that these Poles live very closely crowded together,
particularly in the cities, and that, on the other hand, they come in
constant contact with the German population, they constitute a
tremendous source of contagion which must be checked as quickly as
possible. If this is not done the infection of numerous large numbers of
Germans and most serious physical damage to the health of the German
population must be expected. Today already the number of cases of
Germans, among them also members of the Police Force, becoming infected
by Poles and coming down with TB is increasing.

Under
these circumstances, I consider the solution desired by the Gauleiter
as the only possible one, and ask that you inform The Reichsfuehrer SS
accordingly.

Conc.: Technical adjustments to special vans at present in service and to those that are in production.

Since December 1941, ninety-seven thousand have been processed for example, using three vans, without any defects showing up in the vehicles. The explosion that we know took place at Kulmhof is to be considered an isolated case. The cause can be attributed to improper operation. In order to avoid such incidents, special instructions have been addressed to the services concerned. Safety has been increased considerably as a result of these instructions. Previous experience has shown that the following adjustments would be useful:

1.) In order to facilitate the rapid distribution of CO, as well as to avoid a buildup of pressure, two slots, ten by one centimeters, will be bored at the top of the rear wall. The excess pressure would be controlled by an easily adjustable hinged metal valve on the outside of the vents.

2.) The normal capacity of the vans is nine to ten per square meter. The capacity of the larger special Saurer vans is not so great. The problem is not one of overloading but of off-road maneuverability on all terrains, which is severely diminished in this van. It would appear that a reduction in the cargo area is necessary. This can be achieved by shortening the compartment by about one meter. The problem cannot be solved by merely reducing the number of subjects treated, as has been done so far. For in this case a longer running time is required, as the empty space also needs to be filled with CO. On the contrary, were the cargo area smaller, but fully occupied, the operation would take considerably less time, because there would be no empty space.

3.) The pipe that connects the exhaust to the van tends to rust, because it is eaten away from the inside by liquids that flow into it. To avoid this the nozzle should be so arranged as to point downward. The liquids will thus be prevented from flowing into [the pipe].

4.) To facilitate the cleaning of the vehicle, an opening will be made in the floor to allow for drainage. It will be closed by a watertight cover about twenty to thirty centimeters in diameter, fitted with an elbow siphon that will allow for the drainage of thin liquids. The upper part of the elbow pipe will be fitted with a sieve to avoid obstruction. Thicker dirt can be removed through the large drainage hole when the vehicle is cleaned. The floor of the vehicle can be tipped slightly. In this way all the liquids can be made to flow toward the center and be prevented from entering the pipes.

5.) The observation windows that have been installed up to now could be eliminated, as they are hardly ever used. Considerable time will be saved in the production of the new vans by avoiding the difficult fitting of the window and its airtight lock.

6.) Greater protection is needed for the lighting system. The grille should cover the lamps high enough up to make it impossible to break the bulb. It seems that these lamps are hardly ever turned on, so the users have suggested that they could be done away with. Experience shows, however, that when the back door is closed and it gets dark inside, the load pushes hard against the door. The reason for this is that when it becomes dark inside the load rushes toward what little light remains. This hampers the locking of the door. It has also been noticed that the noise provoked by the locking of the door is linked to the fear aroused by the darkness. It is therefore expedient to keep the lights on before the operation and during the first few minutes of its duration. Lighting is also useful for night work and for the cleaning of the interior of the van.

7.) To facilitate the rapid unloading of the vehicles, a removable grid is to be placed on the floor. It will slide on rollers on a U-shaped rail. It will be removed and put in position by means of a small winch placed under the vehicle. The firm charged with the alterations has stated that it is not able to continue for the moment, due to a lack of staff and materials. Another firm will have to be found.The technical changes planned for the vehicles already in operation will be carried out when and as major repairs to these vehicles prove necessary. The alterations in the ten Saurer vehicles already ordered will be carried out as far as possible. The manufacturer made it clear in a meeting that structural alterations, with the exception of minor ones, cannot be carried out for the moment. An attempt must therefore be made to find another firm that can carry out, on at least one of these ten vehicles, the alterations and adjustments that experience has proved to be necessary. I suggest that the firm in Hohenmauth be charged with the execution.Due to present circumstances, we shall have to expect a later date of completion for this vehicle. It will then not only be kept available as a model but also be used as a reserve vehicle. Once it has been tested, the other vans will be withdrawn from service and will undergo the same alterations.

Re: Special Treatment of Poles, afflicted with incurable tuberculosis, within the Reichsgau Wartheland.
I
have no concerns against having the Protectorate-members and stateless
persons of the Polish race, who are living within the territory of the
Reichsgau Wartheland, and who are afflicted with open tuberculosis,
submitted to the special treatment in the sense of the proposal of
Gau-Leader Greiser, insofar as their disease is incurable, according to
the diagnosis of an official physician.

The
individual measures, though, will first have to be discussed thoroughly
with the Security Police, in order to carry it out the task with the
least possible attraction of attention.
p.p.
[signature]

In the course of the formation of the Gau ghetto, it was initially necessary to create space for the Jews to be settled. For this purpose, a larger number of Jews not fit for work were evacuated from the ghetto and sent to the Sonderkommando. Since 16 January 1942, a total of 44,142 Polish Jews have been resettled. Of the 19,848 Jews, who were sent to the ghetto in October 1941 from the Altreich, the Ostmark, and the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, 10,993 Jews were evacuated, so that space for around 55,000 Jews was created in the ghetto. Subsequently, it was started to clean the rural districts. Some 9,000 Jews were evacuated from the district of Lentschütz. Only one thousand Jews remained in Ozorkow, which are needed there for the execution of Wehrmacht orders. The district of Lentschütz can therefore be viewed as free of Jews.

In the further course of the clearing of the counties, it was now the turn of district of Litzmannstadt. In this county, there were Jews only in Löwenstadt and Strickau.For reasons of practicality, all the Jews from Strickau were resettlement to Löwenstadt.From the 6000 Jews who were now in the ghetto, about 3000 were
evacuated as non-working Jews, while the rest, which consisted of
skilled workers, was transferred to the local ghetto and is already assigned to work.As a tentative finih of the clearing of the counties, the city of Pabianice was cleaned by Jews.Some 3200 Jews were evacuated, the rest of 4000 Jews were transferred to the local ghetto.

Since the Jews of the district knew, of course, about the resettlement, they tried to disturb the resettlement by means of shifts of property, escape to the General Government, and failure to comply with official orders. For this reason, strict measures against the Jews were requested from the RSHA, and several executions of Jews were ordered by the RF SS. So far, a total of 95 Jews have been publicly hanged. The effect of these measures was that the Jew recognized the drastic measures, and now, on the whole, calmly complies to all orders.

Dear Rudi,
Some
time age, a top-secret report from the Reich Main Security Office
concerning special treatment of 2000 TB afflicted Poles was forwarded.
The
report was sent to your address. Since it was top-secret, SS
Hauptsturmfuehrer Faelschlein signed for it. I believe that Faelschlein
handed the whole matter over to you without further ado.

Since
a decision of the Reichsfuehrer SS is to be obtained and since the
interested department of the firm is slowly getting on my nerves through
its constant inquiries, I beg you to let me know if you have the
faintest idea about the whole matter.
I greet you cordially
your
[signature]

I am sorry that I was not able until today to give a definite answer to your letter of 1 May 1942.

I
have no objection to having protectorate people and
stateless persons of Polish origin who live within the territory of the
Reichsgau Warthegau and are infected with open tuberculosis
handed over for special treatment as you suggest as long as their
disease is incurable according to the diagnosis of an official
physician. I would like to request, however, to discuss the individual
measures in detail with the Security Police first in order to carry out the task with the
least possible attraction of attention.

Now that the rural districts have become free of Jews by evacuation in August, another resettlement of about 15,700 sick and unfit Jews from the ghetto Litzmannstadt occurred in September. A special report on the evacuation, which can be regarded as concluded for the time being, has already been submitted on 26 September 1942. With this last resettlement, the population in the Ghetto Litzmannstadt has been reduced to about 89,500 Jews. These Jews are consistently Jews fit for work, almost all of whom have been been involved in the work process.

Dr.med. Kurt Blome
Deputy head
of the Main Office for Public Health of the NSDAP Berlin Sw 68, 18 November 1942
Lindenstrasse 42

To the Reich Governor and Gauleiter Party member Greiser, Posen.

Regards Tuberculosis action in the Warthegau.
Dear Party Member Greiser,

Today
I return to our various conversations concerning the fight against
tuberculosis in your Gau; and I will give you, as agreed on the 9th of
this month in Munich, a detailed picture of the situation as it appears
to me:

Conditions for quickly getting hold of all
consumptives in your Gau exist. The total population of your Gau amounts
to about four to five million people, of which about 835,000 are
Germans. According to previous observations, the number of consumptives
in the Warthe Gau is far greater than the average number in the old
Reich. It was calculated that in 1939 there were among the Poles about
35,000 persons suffering from open tuberculosis and besides this number
about 120,000 other consumptives in need of treatment.

In
this connection it must be mentioned that in spite of the evacuation of
part of the Poles further to the cast the number of sick persons is at
least as great as in 1939. As in consequence of the war the living and
food conditions have deteriorated steadily, one must expect an even
higher number.

With the settlement of Germans in all
parts of the Gau, an enormous danger has arisen for them. A number of
cases of infection of settled children and adults occurs daily.

What
goes for the Warthe Gau must to a certain degree also hold true for the
other annexed territories such a s Danzig-West Prussia, the
administrative districts of Ziechenau and Kattewitz. There are cases of
Germans settled in the Warthe Gau who refuse to have their families
follow because of the danger of infection. If such behavior is imitated
and if our compatriots see that necessary measures for combatting
tuberculosis among the Poles are not carried out, it is to be expected
that the necessary further immigration will come to a halt. In such a
way the settlement program for the East might reach an undesired state.

Therefore,
something basic must be done soon. One must decide the most efficient
way in which this can be done. There are three ways to be taken into
consideration:

1. Special treatment (Soncerbehandlung) of the seriously ill persons.

2. Most rigorous isolation of the seriously ill persons.

3. Creation of a reservation for all TB patients.

For
the planning, attention must be paid to different points of view of a
practical, political and psychological nature. Considering it most
soberly, the simplest way would be the following: Aided by the X-ray
battalion we could reach the entire population, German and Polish, of
the Gau during the first half of 1943. As to the Germans the treatment
and isolation is to be prepared and carried out according to the
regulations of Tuberculosis Relief. The approximately 35,000 Poles who
are incurable and infections will be "specially treated." All other
Polish consumptives will be subject to an appropriate cure in order to
save them for work and to avoid their causing contagion.

According
to your request I made arrangements with the offices in question in
order to start and carry out this radical procedure within half a year.
You told me that tho competent office agreed with you as to this special
treatment and promised support. Before we definitely start the program,
I think it would be correct if you would make sure once more that the
Fuehrer will really agree to such a solution.

I could
imagine, that the Fuehrer, having sometime ago stopped the program in
tho insane asylums, might at this moment consider a "special treatment"
of the incurably sick as unsuitable and irresponsible from a political
point of view. As rewards the Euthanasia Program, it was a question of
people of German nationality afflicted with hereditary diseases. Now it
is a question of infected sick people of a subjugated nation.

There
can be no doubt of the intended program's being the most simple and
most radical solution. If absolute secrecy could be guaranteed, all
scruples, regardless of what nature, could be overcome. But I consider
simply maintaining secrecy impossible. Experience has taught that this
assumption is true. Should these sick persons, having been brought as
planned to the old Reich supposedly to be treated or healed actually
never return, the relatives of these sick persons, in spite of the
greatest secrecy, would some day notice "that something was not quite
right." One must take into consideration that there are many Polish
workers in the old Reich who will inquire as to the where abouts of
their relatives; that there are a certain number of Germans related to
or allied by marriage with Poles who could in this way learn of the
transports of the sick. Very soon more definite news of this program
would leak out, which would be taken up by enemy propaganda. The
Euthanasia Program taught in which manner this was done and which
methods were used. This new program could be better used politically as
it concerns persons of a subjugated nation. The church will not remain
silent either. Nor will people stop at discussing this program. Certain
interested circles will spread the rumor among the people that similar
methods are also to be used in the future on German consumptives. Yes,
that one can count on more or less all incurably ill being done away
with in the future. In connection with this, I recall the recurring
recent foreign broadcasts in connection with the appointment of Prof.
Brandt as Commissioner General, spreading the news that he was ordered
to attend as little as possible to the healing of the seriously sick,
instead all the more to the healing of the less sick. And there are more
than enough people who listen to illegal broadcasts.

Furthermore,
it is to be taken into consideration that the planned proceeding will
provide excellent propaganda material for our enemies, not only as
regards the Italian physicians and scientists, but also as regards the
entire Italian people in consequence of their strong Catholic ties. It
is also beyond all doubt that the enemy will mobilize all the physicians
of the world. And this will be all the more easy as the general,
age-old conception of medical doings and activity is "to keep alive the
poor and guiltless patient as long as possible and to allay his
sufferings."

Therefore, I think it necessary to explain
all these points of view to the Führer before undertaking the program
as, in my opinion, he is the only one able to view the entire complex
and to come to a decision.

Should the Fuehrer decline
the radical solution, preparations for another way must be made. An
exclusive settlement of all Polish consumptives, both incurable and
curable, would be one possibility of assuring an isolation of the
infected. One could settle with them their immediate relatives, if they
so desire, so that nursing and livelihood would be assured. As regards
labor commitment, besides agriculture and forestry certain branches of
industry could be developed in such territories. I cannot judge whether
you can conceive such a possibility within your Gau.

I
also could imagine the creation of a common area for the settlement of
the consumptives of not only your Gau, but also of the Gaus of
Danzig/West Prussia, of the administrative district of Ziechenau and of
the province of Upper Silesia. In order to avoid unnecessary overtopping
of the public means of communication, the removal could be accomplished
by walking. This would be a solution that the world propaganda could
hardly use against us, and one, on the other hand, that would not arouse
any of those stupid rumors in our own country.

Another
solution to be taken into consideration would be a strict isolation of
all the infectious and incurable consumptives, without exception, in
nursing establishments. This solution would lead to the comparatively
rapid death of the sick. With the necessary addition of Polish doctors
and nursing personnel, the character of a pure death camp would be
somewhat mitigated.

The following Polish accommodation possibilities are at present available in your Gau:

Should the radical solution, for example, proposal No.1, be out of
question the necessary conditions for proposals No.2 or 3 must be
created.

We must keep in mind that the conditions of
the war deprive us of the possibility of arranging for a fairly adequate
treatment of the curable consumptives. To do so would require procuring
at least 10,000 more beds. This figure, under the condition that the
program is to be carried out within half a year.

After a
proper examination of all these considerations and circumstance the
creation of a reservation, such as the reservations for lepers, seems to
be the most practicable solution. Such a reservation should be able to
be created in the shortest time by means of the necessary settlement.
Within the reservation one could easily set up conditions for the strict
isolation of the strongly contagious.

Even the case of
the German consumptives represents an extremely difficult problem for
the Gau. But this cannot be overcome, unless the problem of the Polish
consumptives is solved at the same time. Heil Hitler!

In
your letter of 27 June 1942, Journal Number 1247/42 Top Secret, you
gave me permission to give special treatment to Poles who are proved to
be infected with open and therefore incurable pulmonary tuberculosis.
This special treatment of the seriously sick can of course only take
place after the whole population in the territory of my Gau has been
examined to find out who is curable and who is incurable. Tho
examinations are to start soon in accordance with the method of Prof.
Dr. Hohlfelder, who will be assigned to this Gau in a few weeks with his
X-ray battalion. The first utilization of this method is estimated to
be possible in approximately half a year.

In this stage
of the proceedings Prof. Dr. Blome, in his capacity as Deputy Chief of
the Public Health Office of the NSDAP is raising some objections as to
its execution. As he states in a letter of 18 November, these objections
are expressed only now although Dr. Blome and Dr. Hohlfelder and myself
have spent months of preliminary work on examination, clarification and
straightening out the whole procedure.

I enclose a
copy of Blome's letter of 18 November for your information and ask that
you particularly read pages 3, 3a and 4 and then tell me whether you
consider it necessary to inform the Führer of this phase of the
procedure and perhaps ask him if such action is to be refused.

I
personally don't think that we have to consult the Führer again in this
matter, all the more since he told me at the last interview concerning
the Jews that I should act according to my own judgment.

Would you please lot me know your opinion, Reichsfuehrer, in order to avoid unnecessary delay in starting the procedure.

I
have received your letter of 21 November 1942. I too believe that it
would be better to take into consideration the misgivings sot forth by
Party-member Dr. Blome. In my opinion it is impossible to proceed with
the sick persons in the manner intended, especially since, as you have
informed me, it will be possible to exploit the practical results of the
tests only in six month.

I suggest you look for a
suitable area to which the incurable consumptives can be sent. Beside
the incurables, other patients with less severe cases of tuberculosis
could quite well be put into this territory too. This action would also,
of course, have to be exploited with the appropriate form of
propaganda.

Before writing you this letter I again
thoroughly thought over whether the original idea could not in some way
be carried out. However, I am convinced now that it is better to proceed
the other way.

11 comments:

Absolutely breathtaking. May i just ask, if it is agreed that disel engine is not sutible for murder by mean of gas van, wouldn't it contradict the use of disel engines in death camps such as Treblinka and Sobbibor?I would appriciate some clarification.Arik.

They weren't used as gassing engines at Belzec/Sobibor/Treblinka, either. Diesels were used at these camps for power generation, colocated alongside gasoline engines identified by all the direct operators, anyone else who spoke of a diesel was not a direct operator.

I note that the 'quote marks around a euphemism' situation has resurfaced again in document 24. The term in question here being 'brought away'. This brings to mind the famous Harald Turner letter of 11.04.42 where he also adopted this practice by inserting the term 'delousing van' in between the same style quote marks.

I have yet to see any decent response from the revisionist corner in explaining this blatant use of euphemisms. Mattogno compares it to a situation where the word 'standard gas chamber' is underlined in a letter by the company Tesch & Stabenow, and claims this doesn't mean it had a criminal meaning . Underlining words is slightly different to putting words in between quote marks though, isn't it ?

I note that the same letter Mattogno refers to (see page 182 note 272 of his 'Case for Sanity' book and page 292 of his HC critique - note 648) also had the term 'Ariginal Gassing' both underlined and in quote marks, which surely should have been a better argument for Mattogno to use as an example of non-criminal use of quote marks. But the fact it is both underlined and in quote marks maybe suggests another reason for highlighting the term in such a manner, therefore this cannot be compared to the scenario re Turners letter.

I'll ignore Mattogno's further explanation ( on page 292 of his 'critique' re HC's Local Exterminations section) that delousing vans would have been used to evacuate the deportees therefore it would be reasonable to write this , even in quote marks! On the grounds that it is a pile of dog shit.

Yes Jon, I see he has reverted to 'plan D' for this particular explanation, he has decided to invent his own translation and transformed phrase 'not existing' to 'not being present'. Wow ! imagine the trouble this would cause if all German schools decided to use Mattagnos version when taking the register ! :

" I see young Heinz is 'not existing' again today ! Lets hope he will be existing tomorrow when he gets a prize for 'being the most existent' during the term "

I guess 2 and 3 were underlined to stress their importance. I don't understand Mattognos reasoning why 1 and 4 were underlined AND put in quotes. He said this was because :

"the term “Normalgaskammer” was already in use with Tesch& Stabenow in a letter antedating the one from Boos, from which Jährlinghad taken it, and for that very reason he set it out underlined and inquotations marks, exactly the same way he did for the term “Ariginalvergasung”which he had taken instead from the letter written by the SSgarrison surgeon to ZBL on May 20, 1944.272 "

I don't exactly follow Mattognos reasoning here. Is he saying that the reason the words were underlined and in quote marks was because they were also in this format in previous correspondence, and Jahrling was just copying the format ? Well if this was the case then why were they in that format in the previous correspondence then ?

To answer that one would have to study the documentary and historical context. With Turner's letter the context *together* with the quotes leaves no doubt as to the meaning. Simply pointing to quotes and underlining in this correspondence doesn't really even hint at anything, much less prove it. If one can establish that it couldn't plausibly point at anything but in the direction of the HGCs, sure. But the burden of proof is on those that make the claim.

Man, it almost seems that you want these claims to be true, so that you can scream about "anti semitism". But okay, I am a person that wants the truth, so I will except this piece of evidence. I will will analyze it objectively.